King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Take Flight With Funky ‘Le Risque’ Single

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard issued a funky new single entitled, “Le Risque.” The groovy track is the first preview of the band’s previously announced 26th studio album, Flight b741.

KGLW will release Flight b741 on August 9 on their newly established record label (p)doom records. Pulling influences from The Band and Steve Miller, KGLW approached recording Flight b741 in a workmanlike manner. Over two weeks, the album was tracked during sessions held Monday through Friday as the band clocked in “like factory workers.”

The 10-song LP follows the band’s 2023 album, The Silver Cord. According to the KGLW’s announcement, while past albums have taken on eccentric concepts and strategies, Flight b741 captures the “intimacy of six good friends enjoying each other’s company and collaborating on perhaps the warmest, most bonhomie-laden set the group [has] yet committed to wax.”

Regarding the no-concept concept, guitarist Stu Mackenzie stated:

“We wanted to make something that was primal, instinctual, more ‘from the gut,’ just people in a room, doing what feels right. We wanted to make something fun. We came in with the roughest skeletons for songs and tried to keep the arrangements simple, free and easy. The best takes were always the ones where we were winging it pretty significantly.

“This is our most collaborative record – the collaboration was occurring in the room, it was free, and everyone was bringing in songs and ideas. And we wanted to have as many lead vocalists as we could, and to pass the mic, like, ‘This is my part, my idea, I’m gonna sing it and then I’m gonna pass the mic along to you and you can do your thing’. The whole record is built around that. We ended up doing a lot of backing vocals and extra recording, everyone in a room around a couple of microphones, just to give it that feel.

“We had broad themes for every song, and for the bigger picture of the album as a whole, but once the mic was passed it was all up to the person who was singing. These songs weren’t written in isolation – someone would write their verse, sing it for the demo, and that would inspire the next person’s part. So we were riffing off each other. Lyrically, it’s all pretty introspective – we’re having a lot of fun, but we’re often singing about some pretty heavy shit, and probably hitting on some deeper, more universal themes than usual. It’s not a sci-fi record, it’s about life and stuff.

“The record is like a really fun weekend with your mates, you know? Like, proper fun.”

The expansive approach to songwriting and vocal tracking resulted in drummer Michael Cavanagh providing lead vocals for the first time on “Le Risque.” The track arrived with a video directed by Guy Tyzack, watch below:

Flight b741 Tracklist

1. Mirage City
2. Antarctica
3. Raw Feel
4. Hog Calling Contest
5. Le Risque
6. Flight b741
7. Sad Pilot
8. Rats In The Sky
9. Daily Blues